The making and unmaking of uneven development: The role of anchor firms in creating and overcoming industrial decline in East Germany

Christina Wolf

doi:10.1093/jeg/lbaf055

The making and unmaking of uneven development: The role of anchor firms in creating and overcoming industrial decline in East Germany

Christina Wolf

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This article theoretically explores the structural drivers of regional development traps by integrating core-periphery theories with industrial geography. It highlights how distinct industrial ecosystems form productive hierarchies. This is empirically illustrated through East Germany's transformation after reunification. The dismantling of anchor firms during privatisation turned East German regions into Satellite Platform districts, reliant on externally headquartered firms for technology and investment and subject to Myrdalian backwash-effects. Nonetheless, research-intensive manufacturing hotspots, like those in Jena, emerged through industrial policy supporting anchor firm functions. These findings underscore the importance of regional development strategies that cultivate regional anchor firms as key agglomerating forces.

Original language	English
Article number	lbaf055
Number of pages	24
Journal	Journal of Economic Geography
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/jeg/lbaf055
Publication status	Published - 2 Dec 2025

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10.1093/jeg/lbaf055Licence: CC BY

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© The Author (2025). Published by Oxford University Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Final published version, 2.3 MBLicence: CC BY

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abstract = "This article theoretically explores the structural drivers of regional development traps by integrating core-periphery theories with industrial geography. It highlights how distinct industrial ecosystems form productive hierarchies. This is empirically illustrated through East Germany's transformation after reunification. The dismantling of anchor firms during privatisation turned East German regions into Satellite Platform districts, reliant on externally headquartered firms for technology and investment and subject to Myrdalian backwash-effects. Nonetheless, research-intensive manufacturing hotspots, like those in Jena, emerged through industrial policy supporting anchor firm functions. These findings underscore the importance of regional development strategies that cultivate regional anchor firms as key agglomerating forces.",

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The making and unmaking of uneven development: The role of anchor firms in creating and overcoming industrial decline in East Germany

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